LA Times News

LA Times News

In Taiwan, proposed sale of media group prompts concern

Posted: 29 Nov 2012 06:39 PM PST

Some Taiwanese worry that ownership by a consortium with strong investment ties to mainland China may quash free speech on the island.

TAIPEI, Taiwan — The proposed sale of an irreverent media empire in Taiwan to a consortium heavily invested in mainland China is sparking protests by Taiwanese worried that Beijing will quash its tradition of free speech.

Syria phone, Internet access cut amid fighting

Posted: 30 Nov 2012 12:00 AM PST

As fighting rages along a road between Damascus and the airport, it is not clear whether the nationwide phone and Internet outages are the result of an accident or a deliberate act.

BEIRUT — Syria was plunged into Internet darkness Thursday and much of the nation's telephone service was cut as fighting raged on the main road between Damascus and the capital's international airport.

U.N. vote on Palestinian status a setback for U.S., Israel

Posted: 30 Nov 2012 12:00 AM PST

Palestinian Authority succeeds in its bid to obtain an upgraded status that recognizes its goal of statehood. U.N. General Assembly backs the move by a vote of 138 to 9.

UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations General Assembly voted by a lopsided margin over U.S. and Israeli objections to grant Palestinians an enhanced status that acknowledges their long-cherished goal of statehood.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn, NYC hotel maid to settle lawsuit

Posted: 29 Nov 2012 03:53 PM PST

An Associated Press source says a deal has been reached that would end a legal saga over accusations of a sexual attack that forced former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn's resignation.

NEW YORK — Former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn and a hotel maid who accused him of trying to rape her have reached an agreement to settle her lawsuit against him, a person familiar with the case said Thursday.

Away from Egypt's protests, the worries mount

Posted: 30 Nov 2012 12:00 AM PST

'The country is falling apart. We're going to hell,' says a tailor in his Cairo shop. Prolonged civil strife between Islamists and secularists is the fear.

CAIRO — Amid thimbles, pins and strands of silver thread, the tailor twitched his pencil-perfect mustache in disgust and said the country where he learned to sew and raised six children was edging into darkness.

Report on British news media abuses calls for new regulator

Posted: 29 Nov 2012 06:06 PM PST

A senior judge urges Parliament to establish a watchdog after the phone-hacking scandal and other cases. Prime Minister David Cameron balks at the proposal.

LONDON — Britain should set up an independent regulator to monitor its freewheeling news media and prevent abuses such as the phone-hacking scandal that exposed unethical and sometimes illegal news-gathering practices, a senior judge said Thursday after a yearlong investigation.

An Afghan farmer tills under his dreams for his son

Posted: 30 Nov 2012 12:00 AM PST

Desperate to earn money so he could marry, Zabiulla Agha joined the Afghan border police. The night before his wedding, a taxi carrying a coffin arrived at his father's farm.

NAQI KHAIL, Afghanistan — The minivan taxi crossed a river, then jostled and bumped on an unpaved road. The border policeman sat with the ordinary passengers; his buddy lay in a coffin fastened to the roof, "Praised be God for Zabiulla" written on the wood.

In crisis, Israel keeps a shtick upper lip

Posted: 29 Nov 2012 06:08 PM PST

The jokes were flying faster than the rockets during the latest conflict with Hamas.

RISHON LE ZION, Israel — During the recent conflict between Israel and Hamas, high-tech executive Sharon Savariego was never far from the essentials: easy access to the family bomb shelter, a television beaming 24/7 emergency coverage and a laptop to check the latest Internet levity.